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^ Having one of three paid positions at a central Florida ARC resale store, my 15 month employment (30 some senior volunteers) offered a keen inside look at how stores as this operate.
After a dozen or so posts comments tend to sway away from point OP mentions. Following this path results in interesting reactions. Handicapped by this I did not mean to detail inaccurate reasoning.
It would be easier to discuss things if you weren't trying to sound like Yoda
This post doesn't really make sense. You wanna seem classy and like you have more money so you go buy a bag from Walmart?
Not that name brands are the be all and end all of life, if looking like you had more money than you do was a priority you could get a used brand name bag from Goodwill as opposed to a Walmart purse.
Honestly I think Target and Walmart have gotten great over the years in regards to clothes. When I was a kid someone could tell if you had KMart or Walmart clothes they weren't stylish at all. Target has some super nice stuff these days for decent prices, heck even walmart does as well
- "Thrift shopping" is something that has to be done "as you go." You might have a hard time going to a thrift store and finding a whole wardrobe for your family in one trip, but if you visit every week or two, you can pick up pieces as you go.
Many broke families don't shop this way. They buy clothes for themselves and their kids when they can afford it, not when good deals come along. For example, they might have extra cash to spend at tax time, but there might not be hardly anything at the thrift stores...since their kids are out of EVERYTHING, they just go to a store like Walmart and buy everything that they need right then, while they still have the money.
Alternatively, a family that has money in the bank and can pick up a pack of socks or underwear or 2 pairs of jeans or whatever as they go along doesn't have to do that...they pretty much have what they need, so they can wait and watch for good deals to come along (at thrift stores or elsewhere).
-Thrift stores in poor areas aren't very good. It's one reason why I don't go thrift shopping, except for things like stuffed animals for my dogs. I did community service at a local thrift store for over a year and have visited the few in my area many times. The clothes with holes and obvious damage are picked out, but you can still tell that most of the clothes are heavily worn and usually pretty outdated. Add on that the prices are pretty close to what you'd pay at Walmart, and it's a no-brainer.
-Discount stores like Walmart have more fashionable cheap clothing now than they used to. When you can buy a cami in a seasonal color for $1.68 or a feminine, nicely-cut T-shirt for $3 or so while you're grocery shopping, you don't really have a need to go hunt through the thrift stores. You can buy a brand new piece, pick the color, etc.
I had a former co-worker, single male over 50 earning $100k annually, who would always shop at the thrift stores in the wealthy zip codes. He would find high-end branded men's clothes with the labels still attached at ridiculously low prices!
He would also do his grocery shopping a half-hour before the grocery store closed for the night so that he could purchase Broasted Chickens for only $1 each, and other end of the day bargains.
Wow. I know of people in the "lower class" who does not shop at thrift shops. Yet, hits the big retail stores on sale and has every credit card, along with 3 automobile payments and eats out daily. We all know "frugal" living does not mean low income. It is how we manage money and realize what we need vs what we want. And quality over quantity. Like I said before, 'I do not care if it comes from Nordstrom or a second hand store, if I like it and know the value, it is for me." Mind you, I do not pay full price for retail. Love the clearance rack with additional % off sales.
Wow. I know of people in the "lower class" who does not shop at thrift shops. Yet, hits the big retail stores on sale and has every credit card, along with 3 automobile payments and eats out daily. We all know "frugal" living does not mean low income. It is how we manage money and realize what we need vs what we want. And quality over quantity. Like I said before, 'I do not care if it comes from Nordstrom or a second hand store, if I like it and know the value, it is for me." Mind you, I do not pay full price for retail. Love the clearance rack with additional % off sales.
^^^^^^^^^Yes. Yes. If I like it, and know the value-AND- it's NOT retail...I might purchase it
I can only speak from personal experience but my relative whose combined income is $150K+ per year still shops for the cheapest everything she can find. She doesn't buy luxury clothes/purses/shoes, she has a used luxury car (not even new) because it was cheaper than new, she's switching to a smaller telephone company because it's cheaper than the mainstream ones. Maybe because she just bought a house for $1 million, and it's just a regular house, not even a mansion. I suppose that's what happens when you live in a high cost of living area.
This is amazing to me. I thought everyone shopped at thrift stores.
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